Vote No on Ohio State Issue 3
November 7, 2005, 2:04 pm |
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While the proposed Ohio State Issue 3, on the ballot tomorrow, would impose controls on political campaign contributions, there is one notable exception:
Permit labor unions, and other nonprofit unincorporated membership organizations, to contribute funds from regular membership dues paid by the organization’s individual members to a small donor action committee. The small donor action committee is not required to report the names of individuals who contribute in this fashion.
So, transparency for all except labor unions? This is reason enough to vote “no” on this constitutional amendment.
There was a time when labor unions were essential in defending workers’ rights, but that time has passed. Corruption, cronyism, and pricing workers out of jobs ($65/hour!?!?) has become the rule rather than the exception. Ohio State Issue 3 would prop up the labor unions’ waning power, a power that is not merited.
Related: United States
November 13th, 2005 at 12:10 am
Let’s get one thing straight. This $65-an-hour figure that Delphi keeps waving around is a sum of the average worker’s wages ($27 an hour in my mother’s case, but much lower for new hires) PLUS estimated daily costs of job benefits, specificially health insurance. It is not the Delphi workers’ fault that Health Plus and other insurance companies’ premiums are so high. This figure represents not how much the workers are making, but how much they are COSTING Dephi, which, again, is not due to the union’s greed but rather the greed of the healthcare industry. I’d sooner die than let Delphi get away with telling people their workers make $65 an hour to “mow the lawn.”
November 13th, 2005 at 6:33 pm
The unions share equally in Delphi’s woes. They pressed for concessions, especially pension-related, that they knew were unrealistic, but pleased their members. The corporate leadership granted the concessions because they knew fulfillment was years away, and they probably couldn’t meet the promises they made. Unions, executives, shareholders, and customers are all equally capable of greed.